


Like Father, Like Daughter

by QueenSabriel



Category: Old Kingdom - Garth Nix
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-17
Updated: 2016-02-17
Packaged: 2018-05-21 05:12:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,764
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6039568
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/QueenSabriel/pseuds/QueenSabriel
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Ellimere loses her temper</p>
            </blockquote>





	Like Father, Like Daughter

It was an overcast day, with the wind blowing up from the south, though with Wyverly being so close to the wall, Ellimere was unsurprised to feel a faint tingling running along her limbs. Of course, it could just as easily be adrenaline as much as magic. Breathing heavily, she straightened and looked back over her shoulder at the rest of the girls on the hockey field. Wyverly was currently tied with River Crest—an even more prestigious school from south of Corvere—and the game was drawing dangerously close to the end.

Elli glanced at the stands, attempting to spot her mother, but before she could someone struck the ball across the field and the two teams were dashing after it. Elli found herself in stride with one of the River Crest girls, this one a tall and incredibly muscular blonde named Daisy who fixed Ellimere with a leering grin before sprinting just ahead of her and getting control of the ball, steering it back towards their end of the field.

Ellimere’s friend Rachel appeared on Daisy’s other side, the two of them tearing after her. Ellimere’s lungs burned and she found herself falling behind Daisy and Rachel. Just past the center line Rachel made a move for the ball – and collided with Daisy. The two of them went down, the ball shooting out to the side away from them.

But Elli kept running towards the other two. Instead of simply getting out from under Rachel, Daisy had practically hurled her off, and though it was difficult to see what had happened Rachel was curling in on herself, her face tight. One of the umpires was blowing her whistle furiously and Daisy looked like she was just moving to step over Rachel, but when Ellimere finally reached them, she saw blood gushing down over Rachel’s mouth and chin…Which was just about when Ellimere let out a nearly inhuman scream and grabbed Daisy, lifting her clean off her feet.

***

Brawls in girls’ field hockey games were not unheard of, though decidedly uncommon, especially among young ladies such as those that attended schools like Wyverly and River Crest. What _was_ unusual was seeing the Princess Ellimere, who while tall was still just shy of eleven stone, lift up Daisy Sutherby (also tall, but all muscle and perhaps a third larger than the princess) and hurl her several meters down the field before rushing forward as though prepared to do it again.

And even more surprising still was the sight of the queen of the Old Kingdom vaulting over the wall separating the stands from the field to sprint towards her daughter, losing her silver high-heeled sandals in the process and somehow managing to not trip on the skirt of her sundress.

***

Sulyn had tried to stop her, and Sabriel really did give her friend credit for that. But even from a distance she had recognized the sudden change in Ellimere’s posture, and the very un-Elli-like scream she let out before charging the other girl. Panic had set in then, and Sabriel found herself running before she really thought about what was happening.

“Ellimere!” she shouted when she was close enough to be heard (or so she hoped). “Elli _stop!_ ” Out of the corner of her eye she saw Ms. Reinprecht and Magistrix Coelle edging in, though neither of them quite knew what to make of their student’s sudden behavior. At least someone had the good sense to call the game to a halt. 

The other girl had tried to get up and scramble away from Ellimere, which resulted in Elli grabbing the girl’s discarded hockey stick and brandishing it like a club. Sabriel boldly dropped her shoulder and caught Elli around the middle, lifting her off her feet. Ellimere snarled and struggled, though her movements became less frenzied when she was turned away from her target.

“Get the others out of the way!” Sabriel shouted at the stunned teachers. “For Charter’s sake… _Ow_! _Ellimere!_ ”

The last exclamation, brought on by Ellimere’s arm hitting Sabriel square in the nose, finally seemed to break through. Though her chest was still heaving and expression crazed, Ellimere ceased her struggling.

Sabriel grabbed her jaw in one hand. “Look at me,” she said. “Elli, look at me, you’re all right, I’ve got you…”

Slowly the fury melted from Ellimere’s eyes, replaced by utter exhaustion. “Mother…” she whispered, before her head lolled back and she fell unconscious.

It was only then that Sabriel realized just how hard her own heart had been pounding. She spotted Ms. Reinprecht helping the school nurse to load Elli’s friend Rachel onto a stretcher. The girl appeared conscious, though her nose was still bleeding and she seemed to be in quite a bit of pain. 

The nurse looked over at Sabriel. “We’ll just get Rachel inside then we’ll come back for Ellimere, all right ma’am?”

Sabriel nodded and gestured for them to go. She shifted so she sat cross-legged on the short grass, Ellimere’s limp form cradled in her lap. Sighing, Sabriel brushed a few dark curls back from where they had escaped Ellimere’s headband. “Oh, what are we going to tell your father…” she murmured.

***

Ellimere awoke to a pounding headache, and at first she thought it was a hangover, but she hadn’t been drinking she had…the game. Rachel. Daisy Sutherby. Her eyes flew open and she sat up abruptly, a move she instantly regretted.

“Oh, sweetheart,” Sabriel put a hand on her shoulder. “I’m glad you’re awake but…easy.”

Turning to look at her mother, Elli felt a confused mixture of emotions welling in her chest. She fought hard against the instinct to simply start crying, and instead let out a strangled sort of whine. Sabriel made a soothing noise, rubbing her back and stroking her hair until Ellimere found her voice.

“I’m like Dad, aren’t I?” she whispered.

Sabriel gave her a half smile. “In many ways, yes.”

“You know what I mean, Mum!”

“I know.” Sabriel moved her hand to squeeze Ellimere’s. “Yes, it would appear that you’ve inherited the berserker rage from his side of the family.”

The tears came then, hot and frustrated, welling in the corners of Ellimere’s eyes and spilling down her cheeks when she tried to blink them back. “I’m supposed to be the controlled one! I don’t want to have that! It’s not fair I…I…I don’t even know why I did that! I probably just got myself expelled and I can’t—!”

Sabriel clicked her tongue, brushing Ellimere’s tears away with her thumb. “You haven’t been expelled. You’ve been suspended for a week, which I think you should spend back at the House with your father. He’s gotten very good at controlling his rage, as you know, and he can help you deal with it.” 

“I wasn’t thinking…” Ellimere whispered, shaking her head. “I don’t…I don’t know why I did that…”

“You care about your friend Rachel a great deal,” Sabriel said slowly. “You saw her being very badly hurt and…you reacted to defend her. You overreacted, yes, but that’s why you did it. The same reason your father loses himself.”

“Is Rachel okay?” Ellimere asked.

Her mother nodded. “She will be. She has a broken nose and two cracked ribs but that’s all.”

Ellimere let out a relieved breath. She looked down, knowing what she _had_ to ask next, but the pattern on the infirmary blanket was suddenly very, very fascinating. She picked at a loose thread, trying to tug it free.

“Elli,” Sabriel said in an almost prompting tone.

“How is…” Elli’s voice stuck in her throat like porridge. “How is Daisy?”

“Daisy,” Sabriel said, “has a fractured wrist and a concussion. But she will also be all right after some recovery.”

To Ellimere’s utter embarrassment the tears made a reappearance. “I should have been expelled!” she gasped, scrubbing her hand over her face. “I could have killed her! I threw her across the bloody field I could have broken her _neck_ I’m practically a murderer and no one will trust me ever again…I’ll never be queen why would anyone want someone like—”

Sabriel put her hand over her daughter’s mouth. “Stop,” she said gently. “Take a deep breath and think about what you just said.”

Ellimere made a great show of taking a long, deep breath and dramatically exhaling. “I know,” she said finally, in a much calmer tone. “Everyone in the kingdom knows Dad has a temper and they still adore him.”

“Exactly,” Sabriel said. She playfully grasped Elli’s nose between two fingers and gave her head a little shake. “Everyone also knows your father can be a little melodramatic sometimes, just like his little princess.”

“ _Muuuuuuum_ ,” Elli groaned, swatting at her hands. “Charter, stoooop.”

 Sabriel folded her hands in her lap. “You’re right. You did give another girl a concussion, and you are going to have some punishments to deal with at home as well, which I hope you understand.”

“Yes,” Ellimere said, looking down. “But…she did hurt Rachel.”

“And she is also facing a suspension and other consequences,” Sabriel said. “But that’s for her teachers and parents to worry about, not you.” 

Ellimere chanced a look up at her. “Her father’s a politician, isn’t he? Did I just cause problems for you and Dad?”

“Well, your father punched an archduke once,” Sabriel said thoughtfully. “I doubt it will be worse than that…” She gave her a small, reassuring smile. “But again, that’s not for you to worry about. Children fight, and I just have to reassure her parents that that was all this was, and that of course I will be happy to pay for any medical treatments Daisy may require…”

Ellimere nodded, sighing glumly. She hunched her shoulders, then glanced up when she felt the bed shift under Sabriel’s weight as she sat next to her.

“Are _you_ all right?” Sabriel asked softly. 

“Yeah,” Ellimere said. She leaned against her mother, closing her eyes for a moment. “I hate myself right now, but I’m all right.”

Sabriel wrapped her arms around Ellimere, hugging her tightly. “Don’t hate yourself. That won’t help anything. As with all of life’s great fuckups—” She paused to allow Elli a thoroughly shocked giggle “—You apologize profusely, learn from what happened, and try to be better next time.”

“Just like Dad?”

“Yes.” Sabriel nodded. “Just like your father.” She smiled and pressed a kiss to Ellimere’s forehead, causing her Charter mark to glow faintly. “He is a very strong person, with a good heart. And so are you.”


End file.
